Would you think about preserving your fertility because of medical treatment?

29th March 2012 in Advice

This information was correct at the time of publishing. It may not reflect our current practices, prices or regulations.

If you’re facing treatment for cancer which could mean your fertility is affected, would you consider freezing your eggs?

According to a new report from the US, too many young women who are faced with undergoing treatment such as chemotherapy aren’t being given enough help and guidance about protecting their fertility prior to treatment such as chemotherapy.

The study questioned over 1,000 Californian women who had all been diagnosed with cancer between the ages of 18 and 40. But only one in 25 of the women decided to give themselves a better chance of having children after treatment by undergoing egg or embryo-freezing, even though the vast majority said they still wanted to have children in future. 

Pregnancy success with egg-freezing, which we offer here at Manchester Fertility, are dependent on a number of factors. These include your age when your eggs were retrieved, how many eggs are retrieved, how many eggs survive the freeze-thaw process, whether any fertilise via  ICSI and how many embryos are produced.

But egg-freezing or embryo-freezing may soon not be the only option. Scientists have made a breakthrough with successful ovarian tissue transplants. In reported cases, women who had some ovarian tissue removed prior to cancer treatment, stored and then reimplanted later, went on to have healthy babies – even up to seven years later. Ovarian transplants have been successfully carried out in the US and Denmark, and doctors are now hopeful that the treatment could soon be available in the UK.

All of this is positive news if you’re facing the possibility of infertility because of cancer treatment. For more information about how we can help you, and what we offer to help preserve your fertility, you can read our dedicated guide for medical patients here.

Last updated: 20th January 2020